Noidawallahs tweet, tag civic authorities to make their problems heard. How effective is it?

Many Noida residents are now using Twitter to make their civic problems heard by tweeting pictures, posting complaints and tagging the concerned authority’s official Twitter handle. While response is quick, a question remains – if the issues are actually getting resolved

| TNN | Nov 9, 2018, 01:00 IST

Many Noida residents are now using Twitter to make their civic problems heard by tweeting pictures, posting complaints and tagging the concerned authority’s official Twitter handle. While response is quick, a question remains – if the issues are actually getting resolved.When Chhavi Methi tweeted about her water connection getting interrupted to the Noida Authority, she did not expect her problem to be fixed the next day. “They sent a plumber to fix the water connection the very next day after I tweeted . Getting minor complaints like these addressed has become easier, all thanks to Twitter,” says Methi, a resident of Sector 50.
While for many people social media may be a tool to while away time, for Noidawallahs, it is a platform to address their grievances to the top authorities. An increasing number of Noida residents are using Twitter to make their problems heard by tweeting pictures, complaints and tagging the concerned authority’s official Twitter handle.
‘Earlier had to stand in long queues, now Twitter to the rescue’ A few years ago, the best way to get your complaint registered would be to make a string of phone calls, stand in queues, or send multiple letters to the officials. But now, many residents instead of going the traditional way, have started to explore a new avenue – Twitter. “Before Twitter handles were created, we would either make repeated calls to the complaint office or stand in queues at the concerned authority offices. With official Twitter handles of the authorities being active, life has become easier,” says Manish Kumar, a resident of Noida
Extension.

‘Twitter makes authorities responsive’ Traffic issues, encroachments, electricity and cleanliness problems are some of the major issues that residents tweet about, which come under the ambit of Noida Police, UP Electricity Board (Meerut zone) and Noida Authority. Amit Gupta, a resident of Sector 77, says, “Once, an electricity pole in Sector 52 fell on the road and created a lot of problems. We tried connecting with the Electricity Board over phone but there was no response. After a week, I tweeted its picture and tagged the official Twitter handle of the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Board. To my surprise, quick action was taken and the pole was removed the very next day,” says Amit, an IT professional. The best part about tweeting your complaints is that they are on a public platform rather than just between the complainant and the respondent. “When you send a letter or make a call to the concerned authority, only you and the respondent have the knowledge of it. However, on Twitter, every complaint is on a public platform. Authorities are increasingly becoming sensitive regarding their public image and are quick to respond,” says Amit.
Namit Gupta, a resident of Sector 76, says that he joined Twitter after he was unable to lodge a complaint with the Noida Police. “My neighbour’s phone was snatched in Noida few months ago. I had been visiting the police station everyday but they did not lodge a complaint. Some of my friends suggested me to tweet to the official handle of the Noida Police. It was only after tweeting that my complaint got registered with the police.” He is now an active Twitter user and uses the platform to register complaints if the need arises.
For Ankita Verma, a resident of Sector 46, Twitter is a virtual way of skipping the queue and getting to the front desk with your complaint. “Since Twitter is being so widely used by the residents, the official handles of authorities have become more responsive. While on-ground action can be debated, there is no doubt that once you post a complaint on Twitter, it tends to get noticed and the chances of it being responded goes up,” says Ankita.

Does Twitter always work?

While response is quick, residents say that it does not always mean that adequate action is taken. Chhavi Methi says that often, responses seem automated. “I had been after the Noida authority to stop the felling of eucalyptus trees near our house but the replies that I have got were ‘Okay, thanks’ or ‘Noted’, but no action was taken in this regard,” she says. She adds that there needs to be coordination between the team handling complaints and the team doing on-ground work, so that the complaint is resolved effectively.
Deepanshu Pahuja, a resident of Sector 77, points out that not all official Twitter handles of the authorities are active on ground to resolve the residents’ complaints.
He adds, “Noida Authority hardly resolves any complaint. The electricity department does not respond to our complaints at all and seems to be tweeting only for their own publicity. Meanwhile, Noida Police and Traffic Police are always responsive, be it on ground or on Twitter.”
Most of the times, residents say, replies from the official handles of the authorities redirect them to the conventional forms of complaint registering. “A complaint addressed to the Noida Authority or Electricity Department often get responded with a suggestion to email or submit a complaint on the website. If those platforms were effective, why would we tweet in the first place?” asks Nikita Kale, a resident of Sector 29.
When registering a complaint on just Twitter does not seem to work, residents say they resort to conventional platforms. However, that does not guarantee any success whatsoever. “Many a times, it is not just Twitter where we post our complaints. We use online portals like Integrated Grievance Redress System (IGRS), official websites and also send out letters to the civic authorities’ offices apart from tweeting about them,” says Abhay Pandey, a resident of Sector 121.

Twitter should not be used for opinionated comments: authorities

The official Twitter handles of authorities in Noida have only come up in the past five years. While the Noida Police handle was created in 2013, the Noida Traffic Police handle was created in 2015 and that of Noida Authority has been created just last year. The number of responses per day, on these official handles, varies because of the system behind the replies. While the Noida Authority’s Twitter account is handled by its Officer On Special Duty (OSD) RK Singh, the Noida Police and Noida Traffic Police have dedicated teams and a social media cell for twitter complaints. Singh says that he handles Noida Authority’s Twitter account only after his official duties are done. “The Twitter handle has been created to maintain a dialogue between residents and the officials. However, I look after it only after my other official duties for the day are done. Hence, responding to each tweet may not be possible but urgent complaints are dealt with immediately,” he says. He adds that out of 20 tweets they receive from residents, only 10 are genuine complaints. “Twitter service is for SOS complaints for the residents. As soon as we receive such a complaint, we resolve it. However, many residents are using Twitter to give their opinion on the authority’s work rather than putting forward a genuine complaint. If the residents want to give their views, they can write a letter to us. But Twitter should not be used for opinionated comments,” says Singh.

Rahul Srivastava, UP Police’s Additional Superintendent of Police (technical), who started the Twitter Seva service of the police, says that even though the Twitter handle of Noida Police was established in 2013, it wasn’t until 2016 that it became interactive with people tweeting their complaints. “Today, not just in Noida but in all of Uttar Pradesh, people are able to register their complaints through Twitter rather than through the police station. We have put special focus on the Noida Police’s Twitter handle as the number of residents tweeting their complaints is the largest in this city,” says Srivastava. He adds that while other cities in the state lack manpower to handle their official Twitter accounts, Noida Police has been given full strength in order to make its Twitter platform interactive and engaging with Noida residents.

All Comments ()+^ Back to Top

Characters Remaining: 3000

Continue without login

or

Login from existing account

FacebookGoogleEmail

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.